True. Galaxy on Fire 2, Chaos Rings, and Street Fighter IV are a few of them. Rimelands and 1112 as well.
Imo, the bottom line is that there is nothing wring with Gameloft porting/coping games from the console as there is nothing like it already on the iOS device. I agree that ports are wrong when it comes to a game completely copying a game already on the App Store (or the same platform), but Gameloft normally don't do this. I am eagerly awaiting games such as Shadow Guardian because they bring to the iOS device something that has not yet been done before. What's more, I have not had the pleasure to play any of the Uncharted series on the console, so this will be a whole new experience. Yes because Square Enix and Capcom are definitely classed as indie developers.
Good article. I now like Gameloft 1% more. Haha, no, really... I like some of their games like MC 2: BP, N.O.V.A. (great when it released), and some others but most games are ehh. Every game from Gameloft feels the same, plays the same ect. But MC 2 was just great, little bit short though.
Ah, well you should ask that to everybody else who hates Gameloft because they don't let indie developers have a chance, or whatever.
That's exactly why some people here hate so much Gameloft. They became the symbol of modern gaming design, shiny, superficial, boring stories or dialogs, unimaginative, no originality. And seen crowd of kids venerating such thing, is... sad.
I hate when people keep saying how much they hate gameloft. We get it! Just shut up and don't buy there games. Theres no need for the hate. Gameloft just lets players able to play games from consoles that we will never get. The graphics are nice and gameplay is great. LETS STAND UP for GAMELOFT! (if you Quote this post just to tell how much you still hate Gameloft, you just might be left brain dumb, right brain dumb, and all brain dumb.)
I quote in full agreement. Just don't buy their games, that way you won't have shit to give. Believe me, gameloft doesn't need you haters' purchases, not at all. It's not bothering you if you don't buy it.
Eh, they look good and play well, but the game design is always flawed. It's always missing the(or many) key ingredients that make their inspirations good. You shoot a guy at the top of the stairs, and apparently his buddy just around the corner doesn't notice. MC2 felt so dull and lifeless, it being a clone isn't the problem, the problem is that gameloft can't put any life into their games. And this is the quality ALL their games have. I don't hate them or their games, iactually buy them at 99 sales.. But always the same problem. Their only success todate was spiderman, but it was stifled by feel g like a frankensten creation, drawing too directly from DH, avatar, and other gameloft games to feel like a resin at points. People defend them because they lower their standards huge amounts and are impressed by the graphics(which are great), they are able to ignore the gameplay and design flaws, because gamers are tribal and want more than anything for "their" system to be the best; their system can do everything, "look look even MW2 is on the iPhone.. Take that sony! Nimtendo! Err.." I don't want a ps3 in my pocket, I unlike many am happy with an iPhone in my pocket. And am happy that it does deliver great, unique games. Spider, squareball, angry birds... Games built for the iPhone aren't lacking life, because the iPhone is what is giving them life. I also hate this idea that gameloft is somehow doing iOS gaming a service, by pushing boundaries, or being "innovative." Dumbing down console games to work on a mobile touch screen device, isn't innovation. There are countless great games on this device that actually do innovate, and push boundaries, give them the credit. The iphone is a great system because developers are given free reign to experiment and try out new ideas, gameloft if anything is holding the iOS back by putting the emphasis on graphics and dumbed down gameplay in the market, instead of experimentation and true innovation and creativity. Now saying that, i don't care that gameloft is there, because i don't have to buy their games. And the iOS has plenty of great games, and I wish people would see this. The variety and creativity on the app store is its greatest asset, people and the media need to realize this, and move away from gameloft, and start serching out the true gems, the true stand out games, the ones that actually show off the iphone.
In terms of graphical achievement and depth they're certainly not "mediocre crap," but they ARE mediocre crap (at least Modern Combat 2) in terms of: - Story - Dialogue/ Voice Acting - Emotional connection - Innovation (not as in graphics, but as in creating something unique) - Shameless title rip-offs (Modern Combat? StarFront?) The uniqueness is where they are hit the hardest, which is why games like Spider, Labyrinth 2 and Eliss triumph over them.
For some reason I thought the post was referring to non-Gameloft games. Tired. Anyway my point was there are are more than a few apps in the app store that handily best gameloft's stuff.
But those come from other multi-million (or in EA/Capcom/Square Enix's case, multi-billion) dollar companies, companies that could care less about Gameloft. But rather, the "indie" developers, with budgets <$50000 or so. If you think about it, a team of 10 (artists, designers, producers, audio, programmers, etc), working 4 months on a game, being paid a modest $50k a year, is looking at a production cost of ~$160000, just in salaries alone. And that's without the extraneous cost of marketing, voice acting (but let's face it, it's probably free in the case of Gameloft), updates, etc. Bump that up to 6 months with the average salary of $80k or so (at least that's the case with computer programming, not sure about iOS), with a team of 20, and you're looking at million dollar production costs. Do indie developers like me have that much to work with? No, not even 1% of that. But I'm doing it for the resume, so I could really care less. Anyway, if Blizzard isn't bringing SC to the iDevices, they've made the decision to leave money on the table. While it may be a long shot, Gameloft *could* be boosting Blizzard sales to those thinking "oh hey, this is a great iPad game, but what's this StarCraft people keep referring to? I better check it out. *goes off and buys StarCraft*" To the gaming community, there's no reason to be bitter towards Gameloft. Quality games are quality games, regardless of publisher. It's not your job to care about lawsuits, and what's morally right; your holier-than-thou attitude is only holding you back from the enjoyment the rest of us are getting from the games. If you're a indie developer, a serious one, isn't it a lot better to raise your bar than having others lower theirs? Or are you really that pathetic?
When it comes down to games such as MC 2, I don't care if the AI don't react exactly to how a human would in real life. What I care most about is if the game is fun. For me, MC 2 is incredibly fun. Isn't that what it is all about? Being able to play a 3D FPS on your phone. But you make a point that they aren't good. And that we 'lower our standards' and ignore obvious flaws. I'd completely agree with you if we were talking maybe a year earlier. When I first started on this forum I also hated Gameloft for the same reasons you do. They made lifeless games with the sole purpose of big graphics, big money. However, as I have been playing more and more Gameloft games I have seen them improve. Splinter Cell was an absolute flop imo. I hated it. The AI was terrible (the game depended on good AI) and the game wasn't fun. But MC 2 is completely different. The campaign is fun, varied and enjoyable, and doesn't bring along the bad traits of previous games such as SC. Yes I do want my system to be the best, and I will continue to show off MC 2 to all my mates because it is a good game, with almost no flaws. Cool bit of clever wording at the end there. And I completely agree. Indie games such as Spider, Rolando are what makes the iPhone/Touch unique and different. I am certainly not against them in any way shape or form. But there still needs to be room for the big guys. The ones that are ambitious and strive to push the devices limits. Depends on what you call innovation. For me it would be using the device to its full potential, if not more. The multiplayer in MC 2 is innovative imo. It works extremely well (maybe a few connection problems here and there). 10v10 3D multiplayer has never been tried before in the iOS device, and even if it has it would have been by Gameloft. What indie games would you consider innovative? Indie games have their place. They are often fun, easy to play and most of all, specific to the device. However, that does not make them innovative in most cases imo. Totally agree with you for once. I am not blinded by Gamelofts offerings, and also enjoy indie games (most of my games are indie), but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy Gameloft games either. Both are great, and should be respected equally. JESUS CHRIST THIS IS LONG!
You know what my favorite thing about life is? you dont have to buy the games if you dont want to. There will always be people who like the simple games like fruit ninja and doodle jump but hate big gameloft games. and then there are people who are completely the opposite. Who Cares? just buy the games you know you'll have fun with and play them for me i enjoy playing games on my iphone no matter how big or small, usually what i play depends on the situations, wether i'll be able to play for 5min or 20min. And to the people who say that gameloft games are shallow can you please show me a game on the appstore that is not? Some people call a game creative for being a dual stick shooter with multiplayer but its still a dual stick shooter and there are loads of them on the appstore. if gameloft isnt creative then why are they the only dev doing what they're doing?
One thing that's beginning to bug me is Gameloft's constant recycling of the same engine. Avatar, Spiderman, Hero of Sparta (Gem collecting? For extra life? That's new. Tap the screen to slow down and perform some "special' move? Never seen that one before.), etc, and from the looks of it, Shadow Guardian as well, are all pretty much the same game with sprites. And it's not a good thing that the Gameloft engine is starting to show its age, especially in the wake of Infinity Blade and the Unreal engine. Engine. That's where the letdown in "creativity" really is.
I guess some of us just look at games differently. For me, this is entertainment. I play games because they are fun. Obviously a number of problems with games can make the game not fun to me. In that case, I don't play. With that said, a game doesn't need to be completely original with innovative gameplay, perfect voice acting, life like AI and perfect level design for me to enjoy it. The moment I become that detailed of a critic will be the moment gaming stops being as fun to me. I refuse to become a bitter critic. With that said, many Gameloft games are fun to me. Are they perfect? No. I agree with others that Splinter Cell was horrible, but many of their titles have provided hours of entertainment. I like that they are bringing 3D mobile versions of many of the types of games we enjoy on our home consoles. I also agree they have definitely helped push this medium forward. Without Gameloft I doubt we would've seen much evolution past small/quick puzzle games.
You do realize you just spelled out about a year's worth of titles. Do you expect Gameloft to create a new updated 3D engine every 6 months? I'm sure Gameloft will start to upgrade their graphics, especially with Epic/iD pushing the limits of this platform graphically, but some people really have pretty unrealistic expectations around here.
